Saturday, September 6, 2014

Shellfish and saffron have a natural affinity for each other. For some, the experience of savoring the flavor of a delicious paella is proof enough. Still, the desire to know why and certain flavors work so well together is enough to keep a curious cook up all night, or in some cases, inspire in a 2438 page corpus on molecular gastronomy.

Dr. Roman Kaiser is a renowned flavor and fragrance chemist who has dedicated his life to analyzing scents emitted by plants in their natural setting. Respectful of plant life and the environment he is known for utilizing dirigibles to conduct fragrance studies in locations including: Lower Amazonia, Papua New Guinea, India, and rainforest biotopes.

These days Dr. Kaiser can be found with both feet on the ground. He retired from Givaudan in 2011 and lectures at European universities. He spends more time doing things that he loves including foraging, canning and cooking; something he did in his youth as he spent a good part of that time in the hills and forests of Switzerland.

It isn't difficult to imagine a curious flavor story Kaiser shares from his childhood. As a young boy he added a few petals of Rosa centifolia from his father's nursery to a batch of homemade raspberry marmalade. The result was a memorable flavor pairing that inspired his pursuit of sensory science as an adult.

Last month I shared a recipe for parsley pesto with Dr. Kaiser via email and confessed that its success was the result of two unplanned events; accidentally buying parsley for a cilantro-based sofrito recipe and deciding to build a dairy-free pesto using the parsley as a flavor base.

I discovered that lemon zest and ground sumac temper garlic and parsley's assertiveness, creating multiple flavor complements. What I knew in the creation process as "instinct" is something I can now share as experience as there are clear reasons why this flavor experiment worked.

Lemon rind is not juicy, but if you add an umami enhancer like ground sumac berry you receive an added benefit; malic acid. Malic acid gives fruit a pleasant tart quality. In adding ground sumac berries to lemon zest one returns a sensory quality to lemon that is associated with a part of fruit that isn't present in the recipe; the juice-filled pulp. The effect is, in essence, a reconstitution of lemon's juicy character without the addition of water. The water forms in the mouth from the savory umami effect.

After sharing the recipe for parsley pesto with Dr. Kaiser he responded with a flavor story of his own. The event took place while he was dining at a restaurant on the Ligurian coast with colleagues (a story he relates on page 150 of his book Meaningful Scents from Around the World). If you're a home cook with a penchant for seafood and saffron you'll appreciate what Dr. Kaiser has to say about science and the role of a cook's instinct in the kitchen:

"...I would also like to describe a culinary insight. I was always
wondering how the idea developed to add saffron to shrimps, prawns and red
mullet. During a project at the Ligurian coast we once had lunch in a very
simple but culinary-wise, wonderful restaurant where we could even see how the
dishes were prepared. We had red mullet (rouget, Mullus barbatus) very delicately
enhanced in its flavor with saffron, and I suddenly understood why they did
this.

The fresh red mullet itself already has a very faint saffron smell due to
minute amounts of safranal and related compounds formed by degradation of carotenoids which gives the typical color to this and some other
marine species, including shrimps. In fact, this faint saffron note is also
perceivable in fresh shrimps and prawns, in which I have been able to demonstrate
the presence of safranal by headspace trapping.

Another fascinating example illustrating of how people are
often able to do the right thing intuitively, in this case to support a very
faintly present, but desirable olfactory note with a suitable spice.

Dr. Kaiser's capacity for discovery defines him as a person and a scientist. These qualities make it a pleasure and privilege to know him. When I returned to read the passage about saffron and shellfish in his book, I found a note from Kate Greene, Vice President of Marketing at Givaudan. The note, written on July 1, 2008, was situated on page 152; one page ahead of the one Dr. Kaiser cited in his email to me. I must have used the note as a bookmark when I was writing about geosmin, a molecule that smells of freshly turned earth. Kate's note read, "On behalf of Roman, please enjoy his amazing book- it has given all of us much inspiration."

Meaningful Scents from Around the World has the approachable tone of an observational diary with a provocative scholarly flavor. It continues to attract readers because the human element in Dr. Kaiser's work, which is as much about curiosity as it is about science, is timeless. September 16th marks the eighth year since the book was published. Meaningful Scents from Around the World continues to inspire me. I have a feeling it always will...

Notes:
Details regarding Dr. Roman Kaiser's childhood discovery of rose-raspberry flavor pairing can be found in an interview conducted by Dyptique.

Dr. Roman Kaiser pioneered an aroma capturing technique in the 70's referred to as "headspace" trapping. This technique allows scent samples to be collected in the field without harming the plant.

Image of a dirigible from a ScentTrek® in Madagascar's Masaola Peninsula via Givaudan.

Image of a pint of red raspberries by Dan Klimke via Creative Commons.

A big thanks to my husband, A.J. Kydd, who encouraged me to invent something new when I bought the wrong herb at the grocery store. It's nice to be reminded that mistakes and inconveniences are often opportunities in disguise.

Smell & Tell Event Schedule

Planning for Fall 2017 Smell & Tell programming is in the works. Enjoy the summer and Stay tuned!

Radio Interviews

WQKL-FM 107.1 radio host Martin Bandykeinterviews Michelle Krell Kydd about the sense of smell on the fifth anniversary of the Smell and Tell series at the Ann Arbor District Library. You can listen to it here. (January 25, 2017)

Three interviews in 30 days with Michelle Krell Kydd on NPR affiliate stations; because the sense of smell matters.

The Evangelist of Aroma

TEDx Talk by Michelle Krell Kydd

"Secrets from a Trained Nose," is a TEDx UofM talk given by Michelle Krell Kydd on March 20, 2015 at The Power Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Click on the image above to view the video which is featured on YouTube.

COMMUNICATOR EXPLORES SENSE OF SMELL, PROMOTES INTERDISCIPLINARITY

Lights, Camera, Action

This video is an outtake from an event at The University of Michigan. It was shot during last year's Polar Vortex. If you ever wondered about how all things "Glass Petal Smoke" got started, you'll find out here.

The Author and The Site

Glass Petal Smoke was created out of a personal passion for things olfactive and gustatory. The back story regarding a raw material or finished product is often rich with history, myth and folklore. When all of these aspects are brought together, they tell a story of our common humanity, as expressed through the senses.
Because Glass Petal Smoke is a blog, an element of cyber anthropology infuses the space in which it exists. Culture is about human nature and people who love food and fragrance are acutely aware of the connection between the senses and memory. Glass Petal Smoke appeals to readers who possess such awareness and those who aspire to it.
I hope you find inspiration, joy and wonder in the pages of Glass Petal Smoke and share whatever happiness it brings you with others.
Editorial queries may be sent to the editor at glasspetalsmoke [at] gmail dot com.

Dedication * Copyright

In memory of Chris Whitley, Karin Berg, Pablo Neruda and all who traverse the earth in their absence, souls who know that the space between the seen and the unseen is the most interesting place to be...